Inverness Club

Inverness Club
Club information
LocationToledo, Ohio
Established1903
TypePrivate
Total holes18
Events hosted
WebsiteInverness Club
Designed byDonald Ross
Par71
Length7,730 yards (7,068 m)
Course rating78.4
Inverness Club
Main building, seen from Dorr Street
Inverness Club is located in Ohio
Inverness Club
Inverness Club is located in the United States
Inverness Club
Location4601 Dorr St., Toledo, Ohio
Coordinates41°38′47″N 83°39′1″W / 41.64639°N 83.65028°W / 41.64639; -83.65028
Area203 acres (82.2 ha)
Built1919
ArchitectRoss, Donald; Devore Company
Architectural styleBungalow/Craftsman, Tudor Revival
NRHP reference No.93000398 [1]
Added to NRHPMay 10, 1993
Image of the exterior of the Inverness Club House, with people seated on porch stairs, in 1910.
Inverness Club, 1910

Inverness Club is a private golf club in Toledo, Ohio.

Opened in 1903, the club has hosted four U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, two NCAA Men's Championships, and the Solheim Cup. Inverness is the only club to have hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Senior Open, and U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. From 1935 to 1954, it also hosted the Inverness Invitational Four-Ball. It is slated to host the 2027 U.S. Women's Open[2] and the 2029 U.S. Amateur.[3]

Byron Nelson, who served as the club's head golf professional from 1940 to 1944, considered it his "home course." S.P. Jermain, the club's founder and first Board President, conceived the Ryder Cup. The championship course was designed by architect Donald Ross.

History

Inverness was founded in 1903, when many of Toledo's wealthiest citizens purchased a parcel of land and built a nine-hole golf course. The course was eventually expanded to 18 holes. In 1916, the club hired Donald Ross to construct a championship-caliber golf course, which was finished by the end of 1918. In his unpublished book, Golf Has Never Failed Me, Ross discussed the design of Inverness and only six other courses, out of the hundreds he designed.[citation needed]

Before 1920 in the United States, golf professionals were prohibited from entering country clubs' clubhouses, as they were seen as little more than servants to the club members. As professional golf tournaments began to appear in the early part of the 20th century, the visiting pros were treated the same as the home pros.[4]

By 1920, attitudes had begun to change. Sylvanus Pierre Jermain, "the father of public golf in Toledo",[5] lobbied the USGA and the members of Inverness to allow all players, including pros, into the clubhouse at the upcoming 1920 U.S. Open. Both parties agreed, and Inverness thus became the first golf club in the U.S. to allow pros in the clubhouse.

When the U.S. Open returned to Inverness in 1931, Walter Hagen gathered other professional golfers to purchase a gift for the club in gratitude for its pioneering stance.[6] They bought a grandfather clock that still stands in the clubhouse, with a brass plate inscribed:

God measures men by what they are
Not by what they in wealth possess
This vibrant message chimes afar
The voice of Inverness

Byron Nelson was the head professional at Inverness Club from 1940 to 1944. He considered Inverness his home course and credits his time there for his record breaking performance, winning 18 of 35 PGA tournaments including 11 in a row, in 1945. Lloyd Gullickson became the head professional at Inverness Club, succeeding Nelson. Gullickson remained at Inverness as the head professional until his retirement in 1965.[7] Herman Lang, who was the first assistant to Nelson in 1941, was the head pro from 1966-1980.

In preparation for championships, the course has been renovated four times. In 2016, Inverness Club engaged golf course architect, Andrew Green, who carefully researched original drawings and historic photography to restore the artistry of Ross's design. In addition, Green modernized tee boxes and bunkering systems that are fitting to today's championship courses. Green's design has restored Ross's classic championship design, with Inverness Club now playing over 7,700 yards.

Inverness was ranked #47 on Golfweek Magazine's America's Top 200 Classic Courses and #88 by Golf Digest.

Scorecard

Inverness Club
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Black 78.4/151 399 487 274 516 172 534 481 607 464 3,934 387 378 229 556 482 472 451 483 358 3,796 7,730
Gold 74.9/146 392 439 240 430 164 455 456 570 367 3,513 370 378 170 519 450 440 408 411 331 3,477 6,990
Silver M:72.0/137
W:78.6/146 		387 394 197 385 141 430 434 522 344 3,234 345 368 152 495 420 417 393 411 305 3,306 6,540
Blue M:69.6/133
W:76.3/140 		369 350 161 346 118 385 387 522 305 2,943 333 368 141 495 390 389 393 346 305 3,160 6,103
White M:65.8/122
W:71.5/131 		286 350 161 297 103 348 360 448 274 2,627 205 268 111 428 307 367 284 346 262 2,578 5,205
Par 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 5 4 35 4 4 3 5 4 4 4 4 4 36 71

Tournaments

Winners of major tournaments held at Inverness Club include:

U.S. Open
U.S. Amateur
PGA Championship
U.S. Senior Open

U.S. Junior Amateur

  • 2019 – Preston Summerhays
Solheim Cup
Future championships

The club also hosted the NCAA Men's Golf Championship in 1944 and 2009.

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Roland, Kyle (January 6, 2022). "Inverness to host 2027 U.S. Women's Open". Toledo Blade.
  3. ^ Pine, Julie (November 17, 2021). "Inverness Club Selected to Host 2029 U.S. Amateur". USGA.
  4. ^ Shedloski, Dave (July 26, 2011). "Inverness Chime Clock Ticks On". USGA.
  5. ^ Toledo's Attic Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ A Paradigm Shift in Golf History – USGA
  7. ^ Case, William R. (2014). Golf in Columbus at Wyandot Country Club. ISBN 9781626197466.

External links

Media related to Inverness Club at Wikimedia Commons

  • Inverness Club
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